The property market is a fixed point on the investment map. People have always invested and will continue to invest in real estate, so houses for sale are always in demand.
How to start looking for the perfect home
First of all, you need to answer the question — what kind of house do I want? Or rather, in the case of young people: what kind of house do I need?
If you already have children and aren’t planning on expanding your family, it’s easier. It’s easy to calculate how many bedrooms you need, because, of course, we assume that each child will have their own bedroom. It is a good idea to have an extra bedroom for guests, preferably on a different level than the master bedroom.
If you have a hobby that requires space — such as modelling — you should also take this into account when planning your house purchase. Consider whether your hobby is suitable for the rooms in the house where you live, eat and sleep. We’re talking about activities that often use chemicals that emit unpleasant or even dangerous substances. Perhaps a well ventilated garage is a better option? Or maybe you should add something suitable — then consider the size of the lot it sits on when buying a house.
It’s also very important to decide together with your family where you want to live — closer or further from the city centre? As parents, remember that your children will suffer the consequences of your choices, so at least listen to their opinions.
Another point — wanting and even needing and being able to are two very different things. Calculate your budget and compare your assets with the current market. Homes for sale come at very different prices, which fluctuate over time and depend on many factors. You may have to give up some of the assumptions you’ve made as a family. Just prepare yourself a few «acceptable» options and you can start looking around… And if you are interested in real estate in Kiev, go to https://kievrentestate.com.
Where to look for the perfect house for sale?
Let’s assume that you’ve already identified what you want, what you need and what you can afford. What’s next?
The easiest and probably safest solution is to use the services of a real estate agent, for whom the homes for sale are no secret. A realtor knows all about the properties for sale, and if you specify what you want, they’re sure to help you make the right choice. There is one «but» — for the realtor, the homes for sale are a source of profit, so we are not sure which of their advice is professional help in choosing and which is just «marketing chatter» aimed at pushing something that no one else wants. The ideal situation is when we know the broker well, privately — unfortunately, ideal situations rarely occur in nature…
Another option is to use advertising portals. You will find many offers there and thanks to filters we can easily sift out the ones that don’t interest us at all. Offers are usually posted with photos, thanks to which we not only know the parameters like location, area and so on, but we can more or less see what the proposed sale of the house looks like.
It is enough to make contact, make an appointment and see for yourself. Because, of course, nothing usually looks like it does in the photographs. Photographs of rooms taken with a wide-angle lens, the so-called «fisheye», have already become a classic among real estate photographs.
In the picture you see a spacious bathing room, in reality it’s a small nook where two people can’t get past each other.
The advertisement usually states whether the house is being sold directly by the owner or by a real estate agency, and — sometimes — who bears the real estate agent’s costs. If there is no such information, then in almost 100% of cases the agent’s costs are covered by the client. The fee is between 1.5 and 3% of the real estate price so it is worth paying attention to this detail.
Homes for sale and their secrets
Let’s assume that we have our eye on the perfect house. What’s next?
Unfortunately, houses for sale, especially «second-hand» houses, have their ugly secrets that owners are reluctant to talk about. Often it’s an uninteresting neighbourhood. Even in a so-called good neighbourhood you may find a «rogue» who wakes up neighbours at night with a motorbike without a muffler, throws lavish parties or takes an excessive interest in his neighbours’ lives and reports everything to all possible authorities. There are good investments in various locations, such as Pogodno in Szczecin. Pogodno houses are a well-known investment topic for investors from Szczecin. Everyone knows that this location is a win-win.
Other drawbacks of houses for sale can be worse than the neighbourhood — such as dampness, which the previous owners may be hiding. Sometimes it’s cracks in the walls or ceilings, for example, temporarily disguised with mesh and putty. While things like leaky windows or old doors can be easily dealt with, cracks or the infamous recurrent fungus can be a sign of defective construction or an improperly fixed foundation, and these are much harder to deal with — sometimes it’s better to just build your own house.